Former Athletics Doctor John Burns Dies At 82

A funeral Mass was celebrated on June 19 at St. Ignatius Church for John Joseph Burns, MD, chief physician for Boston College athletic teams for more than 35 years, who died of pancreatic cancer on June 15 at his home in Brookline. He was 82.

For his role in pioneering sports medicine at Boston College, Burns, a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, was inducted into the Boston College Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. He was only the second Holy Cross alumnus to have achieved the honor, after former Celtic great and BC basketball coach Bob Cousy.

Burns began his long association with Boston College in 1950. As director of University Health Services, Burns saw the scope of health operations at the school grow significantly, while playing a key role in the evolution of sports medicine at BC.

His son, John Joseph Burns Jr., is an associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.